Soul of Sand
by Alzrius
Summary: There's a monster living inside Keitaro, one that he believes only his promise girl can save him from.


Soul of Sand

Prologue

Alzrius

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. But if the owners feel like selling them, just let me know your asking price.

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_The melodious sound of children's laughter drifted through the playground, making the bright, sunny day take on an air of carefree joy. Giggling, an adorable little girl tugged on the hand of her playmate, a small boy of comparable age, pulling him along with her. "C'mon Kei-kun!" she laughed. Behind her, the boy smiled brightly and nodded as he followed her._

_As she let go of his hand and ran ahead, he pursued her, intent on having fun with his best friend. As he saw where she was headed, however, his smile began to crumble as he slowed to a halt. "W-wait…" he called out, but she was laughing too loudly to hear, intent on her destination._

_The sandbox._

_Turning around and looking for her missing playmate, the girl waved at him. "Kei-kun, c'mon! Let's build a sandcastle!"_

"_But…" He looked from her smiling face down to the sandbox she was standing in, a worried expression flashing across his features. She didn't wait to hear his protesting, however, having already knelt down to begin building her castle, sure that he would join her._

_He gulped, looking fearfully at the sandbox for a few moments…but slowly, his feelings for her outweighed his trepidation. She was his best friend, and he really wanted to play with her and make her happy. Slowly, he climbed into the sandbox, settling down across from her to assist her efforts, the pleased grin she directed at him helping to gradually dispel his worry._

_It took a while, but finally the pair leaned back to examine the magnificent sandcastle, the girl having moved over to lean against her friend as they regarded their work. After spending a few minutes admiring it, she sat up, turning her intent gaze to the boy next to her. "Kei-kun," she said softly._

"_Hm?" It was only at the sound of his name that he looked at her._

"_Did you know that if two people to go Todai together, they find happiness?"_

"_Huh?" For a moment, confusion played across the boy's face, but he didn't have time to try and understand what she meant as she suddenly closed her eyes and leaned in, kissing him on the cheek._

"_Let's go to Todai together, Kei-kun." Her voice was softer than its usual exuberant tone; a testament to her seriousness. Blushing, the little boy looked at her in surprise for a moment, before smiling widely and nodding his head._

_He was about to say something in response, when the sandbox suddenly shuddered._

_The girl looked around, not understanding what was happening as she fell back onto her bottom. The boy, however, suddenly looked terrified as he collapsed onto his hands and knees. _

_The sand in the box began to rise and fall, like water on the ocean. The girl looked around, still more confused than worried. But the boy seemed to be on the verge of panic, crawling towards her rapidly. "Run! Get out of the sandbox! Hurry!" Reaching her, he managed to grab her hand and get to his feet, tugging her along as he tried to get out of the box._

_But there was no longer a box to get out of. There was only sand everywhere, in every direction for as far as the eye could see. The playground was gone, replaced with an endless desert._

"_No…no…no…" the boy was chanting under his breath, looking around as hysteria began to overtake him. Please, please, please don't let this be happening…_

"_Kei-kun! What's wrong?" More scared by his reaction than by the suddenly changed landscape, the girl put her hand on his shoulder, hoping to comfort her friend._

_He turned to her, unsure of whether he should try and explain why he was so scared, or to try and convince her to look for a way out, but before he could open his mouth the sand under her exploded upward. Screaming, the girl fell back, losing her grip on his hand as the sand fell back down onto her, burying her partially._

"_No!" He tried to run towards her, but it was too late. The sand collecting her was rising up, as though in a vast pillar, holding her at the top. As he watched in horror, he realized it wasn't a pillar but an arm, an arm ending in a claw that was holding her tightly in its grasp._

"_Kei-kun! Kei-kun!" Her screams grew louder as she was lifted into the air, her head still uncovered, letting him see her eyes that were looking down at him in absolute panic._

_But he couldn't say anything back, because the owner of the clawed arm was behind her, looking at the prize he held in his grip. Gigantic, the monstrous creature, the demon, opened its mouth, revealing teeth bigger than either of the two children. Its black eyes open wide, highlighted by the patch of black across them on its face; it emitted a shrill, horrible laugh that contained no humor, only malice._

_He opened his mouth, but the scream wouldn't come. His legs shook, but he couldn't move. He couldn't do anything, because if he did, then the demon might take its eyes off his friend and see him instead._

"_KEI-KUN!" shrieked the little girl one last time…and then she was gone as the massive claw of sand closed. Blood rained down everywhere, splashing onto the little boy and soaking the sand, turning it red. _

_Tears of pure terror sliding down his cheeks, the little boy could only stare up at the monster, paralyzed in fear. A whimper came from his throat, as he saw the creature's eyes move, locking onto him, and he knew that he was about to be next…_

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Keitaro Urashima's eyes snapped open.

Cursing internally, he sat up in his seat, blinking his eyes. Outwardly, he seemed like a young man awakening from a nap. Internally, he was seething.

He had fallen asleep! Granted, it could only have been for a few seconds, because the train he was on wasn't torn to pieces and there were no body parts strewn around him, but that didn't matter…that he had let himself fall asleep at all was inexcusable!

He hadn't wanted to ride a train, since he disliked being around people, but the journey from his house to the Hinata district had been too far to walk, and he hadn't wanted to use any more…exotic forms of transportation if at all possible. So he'd elected to take a train, paying extra for a private room in one of the upscale passenger cars. He hadn't expected the seats to be so nicely cushioned, however, and that, combined with the gentle motion of the train had made him stupidly fall into a light slumber.

Sitting up straight so he wasn't leaning against the too-comfortable seatback again, Keitaro instead directed his gaze out the window. He ignored the light reflection of his own face that was present in the glass, not wanting to think about the permanent black rings that encircled his eyes; he could ignore the blackness of his eyelids, but the sight of the darkness ringing his eyes was something he hated to see – it reminded him of another creature with similar features that he despised.

Instead, he turned his thoughts to his destination. It was the one remaining place he had to go; the one place where he could keep fighting to attain his dream of becoming a Todai student. As he looked into the distance, he whispered softly…

"Hinata Sou."


End file.
